Donald Trump’s first 200 days. His record so far

It’s been 200 days since Donald Trump took the oath and became the United States’ 45th president. Here’s a look back over his time in office so far.

The economy

Under Donald Trump the economy has performed reasonably well. The Guardian recently reported that an extra 209,000 jobs were created in the US economy in July. This was significantly better than expected. The newspaper also reported that unemployment fell to “a 16-year low” of 4.3%.

Twitter

The president’s use of Twitter is one aspect of his presidency that is truly significant. His use of the social media site, in terms of making key announcements, but also the sometimes controversial nature of his use, has captured the media’s attention. Supporters will say he uses it to break through the “spin” of the mainstream media and get his messages directly to his supporters. Critics will call it unpresidential, and often undignified.

In bad news for the president, a recent YouGov poll suggested that a vast majority of Americans found Trump’s use of Twitter to be “inappropriate” for a US president.

Foreign relations

One key story of Trump’s presidency is his relationship with Russia. The most recent development is the announcement of a Grand Jury investigation into alleged Russian involvement in the United States’ 2016 election, as reported by the BBC. The site reports that one focus of the Jury will be to look into a meeting between Trump’s son and his son-in-law with a “Russian lawyer”.

The investigation continues.

Borders and security

The building of a wall between the United States and Mexico was a key pledge during Donald Trump’s election campaign. The most recent development is the announcement of a Senate bill that could put $15bn towards the wall, as reported by CNN.

As for Trump’s travel ban, the BBC reported at the end of June that: “People from six mainly Muslim countries and all refugees now face tougher US entry due to President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban.”

He has also made the announcement that no “transgender individuals” will be able to serve in the military “in any capacity”, using Twitter to announce the decision. The comments sparked a fierce backlash, particularly on social media. On top of that, a YouGov poll suggested that most Americans disagreed with the ban.

Approval ratings

Since taking office, Donald Trump’s net approval ratings have sunk, according to collected data by FiveThirtyEight. On day 199 of his presidency, his net approval rating stood at -20.3%.

Richard Wood

Richard Wood is a Masters student in Political Research at the University of Aberdeen and is Head of Media for campaign-group TalkPolitics. Other than politics, he is passionate about travel, running, and writing, as well as all things space-related.